Ten Bird Calls you Probably Already Know!

Before I went back to school for ecology, I might have been able to identify five bird calls.

Maybe I could identify more (I never tested myself), but I certainly wasn't really paying attention to the sounds of birds as I went around the city. My urban nature outings never involved working on distinguishing one call from another, neither was I trying to associate a specific call with a specific bird.

Nature to me was a blur of colours, flowers and trees known more as groups than as individuals and the background sounds all blurred into one - a relaxing sound of birds. I immersed myself in the big "N" of nature and enjoyed being immersed.

But when I had the opportunity - both at school to learn bird calls and to go to a birding class in the city after graduating, I found that knowing bird calls give me an extra enjoyment when I'm out in nature and even as I walk around the city. There are more species of birds in urban areas than you might suspect. Over twenty percent of birds are found in cities! I also found that using my ears helps me identify birds that I don't even see. (There are so many more birds around than we realize - many are high up in trees or hidden in shrubbery!) And best of all - learning bird calls really wasn't as hard as I had thought!

I thought it would be fun to list ten bird calls to start testing your birding ear with.

American Robin - Let's start with the American Robin. Everyone knows this one right? We see the Robin every spring hopping around in our gardens and lawns and enjoy its cheery call!

Cheer-i-up, cheer-ee-o

American Crow - Oh how I love the gregariousness of this bird and the loyalty it has to its family. Their call is probably familiar to many! I see them flying very high - there always seems to be at least one around when I'm out. (And don't forget to look for their daily sunset commute to their winter roosts!)

Caw-caw-caw

Blue Jay - Such a talkative bird and what a delight to see that flash of blue in your yard or in a local park. I had to really work with the mnemonic to remind myself that this was the Jay call. Usually they are further away in tall trees in my neighbourhood.

Jaaay-jaaay-jaaay

Black-capped Chickadee - This small friendly bird has a plethora of calls that includes one that echoes its own name: Chick-a-dee-dee-dee. I find these birds easy to spot, very active, flittering from tree to tree. At school a classmate shared with me a new mnemonic that identifies a second call of this bird which I love - see if you can catch this call when you are out.

Cheeese-bur-ger (hungry yet?)

Mourning Dove - Who doesn't know the calming "coo" of a mourning dove? And no worries if you don't - you can learn it quickly and easily, as it is a very unique sound. (Pictured above in title photo.) I find that this is one of those calls where I hear the bird more than I spot it. But it also has another unique fluttering noise it makes as it flies off (from under shrubs) that finds me quickly turning my head.

Hooo-ah hoo-hoo-hoo

Mallard - Every duck has its own unique distinctive call - I had no idea! So if you are familiar with the mallard's "quack" then you can identify this duck by ear! And oh! I see these beautiful birds along our quieter river fronts (and in the rivers) whenever I'm along the water.

Quack quack quack (as simple as that!)

Northern Cardinal - Another colourful bird that is a favourite backyard bird for many. It has two lovely easily identifiable calls. You will here two parts to the first one - a quicker chirp that lasts for 12 to 15 quick beats with the Chew, chew, chew after and then the very distinct "Purty purty". Hearing the Cardinal calls are another marker of spring for me. If I spot one, I'll always quickly see if I can find it's lighter coloured mate.

Purty-purty-purty

Red-breasted Nuthatch - This may be a new call for you but you'll realize that it has been one of those background noises that was easily dismissed as a city noise. In class, we were instructed to see if we could here the "low slow beep" that you might here when a large truck is backing up. This was the best way for me to quickly hear this bird outdoors! It's a smaller bird so a bit more of a challenge to spot but check tree trunks as it's known for searching for insects in the trunk's crevices.

Beeeep-beeeeep-beeeep

Red-winged Blackbird - This beautiful black bird with the red epaulets is one of my favourites as I grew up around wet fields and rivers where their territorial call notified us of the end of winter. They are rather gregarious, so another that you'll probably spot soaring over marshy areas but they also hide in reeds and grasses so look low also.

Ov-er-heeeere!

Pileated Woodpecker - Once you identify this ghostly dusky call, it might bring you back to camping days when you were walking around at sunset. But you can also find this bird in urban areas as long as there is some wooded greenspace around. It too can be spotted on tree trunks ready to drill holes in search of insects.

Keep in mind that the distinct call or song that you use to first identify the bird, may be just one of many sounds that the bird species makes. Pay attention and when you see (or hear) a bird you recognize, stay awhile and notice what other songs, notes, noises it makes.

For those in Ottawa - the Ottawa Bird Count offers an incredible Bird Songs course every spring for its volunteers. The above list was inspired by their first class which goes over some of the more familiar bird calls!

*** Please be aware that listening to bird calls at home with your indoor cats may cause some confusion and "ears up" action!*** Our dear cat Max, kept looking for the birds he heard (as I was writing this post and reviewing the bird songs), even jumping up on my desk!